The U.S. Postal Service reports that it had to remove post office drop boxes in Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace recently due to vandalism, since the boxes were no longer secure. There is no time frame for the replacements.
The vandalism occured at the following locations:
– 19715 Hwy 99 at the Safeway center in Lynnwood
– 20530 68th Ave. W., Lynnwood
– 3715 196th St. S.W., Lynnwood
– 7601 Olympic View Dr., Edmonds
– 23210 57th Ave. W., Mountlake Terrace
Customers can still deposit their mail in the collection boxes inside their local post office lobby until the boxes are replaced.
USPS representative Kim Frum said staff removed the boxes, and work orders have been filed for replacement boxes.
“The replacement box is anticipated to be one of the 15,000 new, high-security blue collection boxes already installed nationwide since May 2023,” Frum said.
Frum said that there has been an increase in postal crime — including assaults on staff — nationwide over the past few years.
In a March 2024 news release, USPS stated the Postal Inspection Service had made 73% more mail theft arrests than it had in the same period in the 2023 fiscal year. Further, letter carrier robberies are down 19%, and mail theft reports are down 34%.
USPS credits the increase as the direct result of the active work done by the Postal Inspection Service and federal and local law enforcement partners.
Customers can take several steps to protect their mail and their letter carriers, including:
The USPS suggests the following steps to protect mail and postal carriers:
– Don’t let incoming or outgoing mail sit in your mailbox. You can significantly reduce the chance of theft by removing your mail from your mailbox daily.
– Deposit outgoing mail at secure locations inside your local post office or place of business, or hand it directly to a letter carrier.
– Sign up for Informed Delivery and get daily digest emails that preview your mail and packages scheduled to arrive.
– Become involved and engaged in your neighborhood via neighborhood watches and local social media groups to spread awareness and share information.
– Keep an eye out for your letter carrier. If you see something suspicious, or if you see someone following your carrier, call 911.
— By Rick Sinnett
Thank you for this article, Rick. Reading this reminds me of the incident a few months ago where a postal worker was held up and his master keys to condos stolen. Does anyone have any more information about this? This would seem to me to be a terrific issue of postal security. Any news on the matter?
We have asked about the incident in question via email and phone messages several times and have never received a reply from the postal inspector in charge of the case. — Teresa Wippel, publisher
Teresa. Thank you. I hope you can stay on top of this so the public will get an answer from our postal service.
Thanks, Teresa. It’s amazing how many local events and issues you manage to cover. Much appreciated! Keep up the good work. (And congrats on being Grand Marshal for the Edmonds 4th! You deserve it 110%.)
You’re finally getting around to reporting about this. I had to ask about it when I went to use the mail box at the location on 20530 68th and was shocked that it was gone, then I went to use the mailbox at Perrinville at 7601 Olympic View Dr and that one was gone too. So I got out of my car, went inside and asked the postal clerk and he explained what happened. This was over three weeks ago. Hence why I say, you’re just now reporting about this. It would‘ve been nice to know the three weeks earlier so I wouldn’t have wasted time searching for a mailbox.
Linda — it took us a while to get all the information we needed from the U.S. postal service folks.
Linda – I feel your comments and criticisms about Edmonds News are unfounded. They are dedicated to give us local news in a timely manner. They are not some big newspaper with a staff involved in specific areas. They are a small staff spread out to cover local events and the inflow of news to keep us informed. I think they do a fabulous job and commend them for their work heart-fully . Thank you Edmond’s News for all you do for us.
I am saddened by the increase in crime, running of stop signs, speeding, tailgating, etc. Not to mention the disgusting graffiti on street signs and elsewhere.